NC State Football

UNC Guilty of Selling Shoes…Oh The Irony

Published

7 years ago

July 19, 2018

News broke yesterday that UNC self-reported to the NCAA in February that multiple football players sold some of their university issued athletic gear.

.@WRAL has confirmed that #UNC self-reported to the NCAA in Feb. that multiple football players sold some of their university issued athletic gear. UNC nor the NCAA have not announced any findings but players face suspensions.

— Jeff Gravley (@jgravleyWRAL) July 18, 2018

The beauty of this was that earlier in the day North Carolina Athletic Director Bubba Cunningham shared at the ACC Kickoff that he was ecstatic to enter his first “normal” year in this role with no NCAA issues looming over their heads.

“It is different because there’s not a major negative project hanging over your head,” Cunningham said. “All the projects we have in front of us are all positive things that will enhance the student-athlete experience. … Now I think we can even be better.” (AP)

Not so fast Bubba.

The disturbing irony of this, is that the only loss UNC will likely experience is the suspension of a few players, while NC State’s Men’s Basketball program was put on probation for 2 years back in 1989, and banned from the 1990 NCAA Tournament, for doing the exact same thing.

While I am fully aware that we live in a different day and age, and the infraction today is not held to the same standard as it was decades prior, this is salt in the wound for an NC State fanbase that has continually watched the NCAA allow their arch rival walk through scandal after scandal unscathed.

What the Wolfpack fanbase can at least relish in, is that on the slowest day of the sports year, a shadow was cast over UNC. Also, kudos to UNC head coach Larry Fedora for taking over the ACC Kickoff with an unwavering belief that Football and CTE are unrelated, and that the sport of football is “under attack.” In fact, he went as far as to say that the attack on football was bringing our nation down, and even weakening our military.